Conventional travel planning regularly involves making access to road, or other, maps. Access to such maps provides a planner with information to facilitate determination, or selection, of a route path to be taken during the travel.
Maps have long been printed, or otherwise disposed upon paper or analogous materials. Relatively recently, as a result of advancements in processing technologies, mapping functionality is provided by electronic devices. Map functionality is able to be of increased portability as well as, sometimes, increased capabilities of personalization.
Electronic map devices typically include portable display devices that permit the display of maps of any of various geographical areas. In some of such devices, a map is created and displayed upon the display device by retrieving map indicia from a storage element. The map indicia, once retrieved, are used in the creation of a map display that is displayed at the display device. When the storage element is of large storage capacity, and large amounts of map indicia are stored thereat, map-generative capabilities permit map creation and display of any area of sometimes even worldwide scope.
Internet-based mapping applications are also available. For instance, Yahoo™ and Google™ map applications are used by many to map a location or to obtain a map showing a route between a set of locations. As internet accessibility is also carried out through radio connections, the Yahoo, Google, and other internet-based mapping applications are available in mobile scenarios. For instance, a mapping application is available to an operator, or passenger, of a moving, motor vehicle. The operator or passenger, for instance, is able to request, and obtain display of, a map that identifies a route to be taken to reach a desired destination, obviating the need of a conventional, paper map.
Electronic map devices are sometimes embodied together with GPS (global positioning system) receivers, or otherwise are provided with positional information. The positional information permits maps to be generated and displayed that identify the present position of the motorized vehicle, or an area offset therefrom. As the position of the vehicle changes, the map display is updated, using updated GPS information.
The internet mapping applications, as well as others, sometimes also provide feature information associated with geographical locations. For instance, the features include identification of business establishments, such as restaurants, hotels, recreational enterprises, etc. And, features sometimes also include identification of scenic locations, historical markers, etc. Display of the features together with, or otherwise in association with, a mapped route provides a viewer with additional information associated with locations along a mapped route.
While electronic map devices provide a user with many viewing advantages, conventional map applications have well-developed capabilities to create map routes between a set of locations, i.e., a route source and a route destination, conventional map applications are generally unable to create a map route that excludes a location or area. That is to say, a user might well have a preference in routes that are formable between the route source and destination. The preference, e.g., is a preference for the route not to include a location, feature, or area. In order for a user to cause creation of a route path that does not include an undesired location or area, the user typically must cause the generation of multiple sub-routes, each sub-route having a route source and destination. The user must either have some knowledge of the geographical error or must, through trial and error, make multiple sub-routes, map requests. While interactive screens are also provided that facilitate the route selection, such as a drag-and-drop user interface provided by Google™, the route selection scheme still requires that the user define multiple sub-routes in order to avoid the undesired location or area. The drag-and-drop user interface is merely a more user-friendly manner by which to cause creation of the route in which the sub-routes are selected by the user to not include the undesired location or area.
If a manner could be provided by which more automatically to cause creation of a map route that excludes an undesired location or area, improved user experience would be provided.
It is in light of this background information related to map or route creation that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.